I'm not really sure where to ask questions. Thought maybe this was the best place. If not well , hopefully someone can guide my post to the proper place.

I had just one or two questions to ask, and any answers would be appreciated. I just started a series on this site and was wondering how a writer keeps his "fans", or those that comment happy if they ask for more writing and the writer, being me, has no clue how to continue the series or even if i want to?

what would be the best way to handle it? would it be considered rude to post something different or would it be best to continue the already started series?

I'm not really sure where to ask questions. Thought maybe this was the best place. If not well , hopefully someone can guide my post to the proper place.

I had just one or two questions to ask, and any answers would be appreciated. I just started a series on this site and was wondering how a writer keeps his "fans", or those that comment happy if they ask for more writing and the writer, being me, has no clue how to continue the series or even if i want to?

what would be the best way to handle it? would it be considered rude to post something different or would it be best to continue the already started series?

Fans may grumble if you start something new without wrapping up a series that they're already invested in, but it's not like they're paying you for it. If you don't feel inspired to continue the series, probably not a lot of point in trying to force it.

(OTOH, this is a good argument for not tantalising them with a series unless you have a plan for finishing it.)

__________________
New for February 2015: The Wasp of St. Judith's. A night-shift nurse in a dementia ward, a burned-out old musician, and a new co-worker.

Well, the second answer I would give you is to simply be good. If your writing is solid, readers will like it--readers, though not necessarily your "fans". Write well, and the quality will speak for itself.

But the first answer I would give you is, Stop it, you're doing it all wrong.

There is a short list of people you need to please with your writing. They are Yourself, Yourself and Yourself. You should write what you want to write, how you want to write it, because you want to write it. You should tell stories that matter to you, in ways that matter to you. Call it your soul, call it your muse, call it your artistic integrity--call it whatever the hell you want, so long as it keeps you writing the stories only you can write.

Your fans, you will notice, are nowhere on that list. That is as it should be.

Here's the thing about fans: they are like children throwing tantrums. They want what they want, regardless of whether that thing would be good for them. My website (link in my sig) has a large family of stories revolving around eight characters who started out as under-18 highschoolers (which is why they aren't published here), and one notorious e-mail informed me in no uncertain terms that Characters A and B should bring C into their relationship to form one of those MFF marriages that are so popular these days. Never mind that this went against all the grain of everything I had ever written. Never mind that none of the characters had ever shown interest in such an arrangement. Never mind that I don't think they work and would have done a terrible job writing it. This was what he wanted, and that was that.

Here's the other thing about fans: they want everything. You can't please everybody. Say I start a story about a beautiful blonde woman, statuesque, with 38DDs and blue eyes. Well, the next person who e-mails me says, "Dude, Sylvester, what are you on about? I like pale-skinned flat-chested brunettes!" Well, my response would be, "Why are you calling me Sylvester? That's not my name." But after we cleared that up, we'd have the dilemma. Who should I please? Which of my fans is more deserving of service? How do I explain it to the ones I jilted?

The answer to all of this is simple: I don't even bother. If I try to please "The Fans"--that raving mob of self-contradictory lunatics--I will go insane, because it can't actually be done. You can't write a story that is everything at once. You definitely can't write a story you don't believe in with your whole heart--at least, you can't write it well. And stories that lack that honesty never go far.

Conversely, stories that have that honesty? They work. That's all there is to it. So you lose the entire "fanbase" you built up with Story #1? That's okay, because Story #2 is just as good and will bring in its own crowd. Quality is all that matters... and the only way to achieve it is to ignore the fans and write from your heart.

My two cents, worth what you paid for it.

__________________
"Haiku are easy
to write, but may not make sense.
Refrigerator."

"The plural of 'Surgeon General' is 'Surgeons General.' The past tense of 'Surgeons General' is 'Surgeonsed General.' "

Boy I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this one already. Nobody has a fanbase, those are for comic superheroes and movie characters. Well alright so in one case it's a TV series but come on, there is no such thing as an erotic stories fanbase.

Instead what you have are people who think you hit all the hot spots and got them off hard. Sometimes they lash out at you for getting them off so hard on something that's supposed to be wrong, incest for example. Other times they simply favorite the story, or you and come back often to get off hard.

Which means, don't give a rat's behind if you get emails about continuing something, write what you want to write. If you think that after little Debbie got knocked up by daddy the story is done, it's done. I've never written incest and i don't know if you have the example I used came to me since I mentioned incest. It's one of the more common secret fantasies because it is wrong and some are embarrassed so lash out.

Boy I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this one already. Nobody has a fanbase,

They probably haven't mentioned it because it's a pretty ludicrous claim. Of course authors here who write a lot and connect with a segment of readers develop fan bases here. If you habitually open a new story on the basis of the author's name because you've enjoyed previous stories by this author, you are a fan--and you are part of a fan base. And of course it's happening on Literotica.

Boy I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this one already. Nobody has a fanbase, those are for comic superheroes and movie characters. Well alright so in one case it's a TV series but come on, there is no such thing as an erotic stories fanbase.

Instead what you have are people who think you hit all the hot spots and got them off hard. Sometimes they lash out at you for getting them off so hard on something that's supposed to be wrong, incest for example. Other times they simply favorite the story, or you and come back often to get off hard.

Which means, don't give a rat's behind if you get emails about continuing something, write what you want to write. If you think that after little Debbie got knocked up by daddy the story is done, it's done. I've never written incest and i don't know if you have the example I used came to me since I mentioned incest. It's one of the more common secret fantasies because it is wrong and some are embarrassed so lash out.

I disagree. When some one favorites you, they are part of your fan base. They are bookmarking you to keep checking for your new work or have easy access to your "library"

I don;t take comments too seriously, good or bad, but the one I'm going to post not only got me to smile, but proves there are fan bases here.

Always a good day
08/31/12 By: Anonymous
Its always a great day when I see a lovecraft68 submission. I love you'r writing, keep up the great work.

People do follow the authors here.

__________________
"There is an expression; all men are created equal. This statement is a lie, no doubt created to help those who wallow in mediocrity feel better about themselves." The Lady Persephone, Grand Mistress of the Circle.

ok. thank you for all your advice. will take it into consideration. though one more question.

Is it better to post the story as one long story or in smaller chapters ?

That's an oft-queried and never definitively answered question. It's not that it's a bad question; it's that the readership here is so vast that this is the type of personal preference issue that can't have a "this is better" answer to it.

My preference would be to avoid going much beyond three Lit. pages (about 11,500 words) per entry. The classic definition of a short story, the basis of the collection here, is what can be read in one sitting. Three Lit. pages pretty much pushes the edge of what a majority of readers are going to take the time to read in one sitting in today's hopped-up world, I think.

And as soon as I post that, someone will come along and say they prefer 10 Lit. pages at a go--which will only evidence my initial answer.

SR hit it on the head. It also works as an advertising ploy: if you publish multiple chapters, you get more votes, more scores, and look like you're more productive.

(I love long, involved stories, but I'm not gonna lie: I came across one that was 10 pages and despaired of getting to the end. It's human psychology: a smaller number looks less challenging. Though it's also unwise to leave a story open or bookmarked on your computer and go off to work or whatever.)

__________________
"Haiku are easy
to write, but may not make sense.
Refrigerator."

"The plural of 'Surgeon General' is 'Surgeons General.' The past tense of 'Surgeons General' is 'Surgeonsed General.' "

1) A reader who takes the time to send a thoughtful comment in a message should be responded to. After all, they took the time to read your story. Of the 30,000 hits a story gets in its first few days being posted only a handful of people bother to send a message. Thanking them and being gracious is common courtesy.

2) Often in the comments section a person will post something like "I really think this story is hot. You should continue it and the couple should have an anal threesome with the babysitter!" What the person is really saying is, "I like the way you write and would love to see a story that encompasses my fantasies." Writing doesn't work that way. I don't think it is necessary to respond to the comments section unless there is something in the structure of the story that is misleading to the readers like a shift in pov that wasn't caught.

3) Anonymous comments should be ignored.

4) Comments from another lit writer, especially one who posts quality stories, should be considered and taken to heart. These are people who have dealt with the same narrative quandries and problems you have. The might be able to see something in the story that you missed.

Hi.
For your question concerning comments asking for more when you didn't plan to write more: your duty as the author is simply to read the comments.
After that, you might care to respond to them. I've done so infrequently and seen almost no interaction with the readers come from that. A notable exception are my two editors (both fellow authors on the site) and someone who bought my ebook the day before it was to be free (talk about flattering!).
Take positive comments as compliments, especially when the reader is asking for a continuation of the story that, in your mind, was a complete and finished story. Yeah, feel a little pity for these readers because you don't have plans to write a sequel, but remember that their comment or suggestion may stir the creative juices, and a month or two down the road a sequel might spring to mind. This has happened to me a few times now.
And maybe more readers will take the hint and make more suggestions and...but don't hold your breath.

As for your question about posting a long story or posting one in chapters: my tendency is to post long stories. However, I have received comments requesting they be split into chapters, for the reasons others have mentioned above.
I've read some of CatBrown's and LexiRose's multiple chapter stories and not once have I seen a comment requesting the chapters be combined into one long story. I suspect that may be a rare occurrence, if it happens at all.
So I think I'm going to switch to chapters for my next submission.

As for keeping your fans happy, well you don't owe it to them to keep them happy. We all want them to love what we write, but if they're not paying you... However, write your stories and the ones who like your style may keep coming back.

Had you considered the series finished but your fans are asking you for more, or are you just quiting in the middle? It makes a difference. I guess I'm the only one on this site who believes he has an obligation to his readers whether they pay or not.

I have pulled my stories from here but still submit to other sites, both pay sites as well as free sites. I, personally, would never leave a series unfinished. Others have said the only person you write for is yourself; if that's true, why submit your work? Just write it and read yourself, then you don't have to worry about it.

If you submit it; however, I assume you do so for others who may enjoy your writing; then you don't finish it? That makes no sense to me unless your purpose for submitting an unfinished story is to piss people off. In that case, congratulations, you've succeeded.

I had an author listed in my "favorites" and loved reading her stories; then she started two multi-chapter stories and didn't finish either of them. I removed her from my favorites and don't bother reading her anymore.

What would you do if you were enjoying a free school play, and right in the middle of it, the cast simply walked off the stage and quit? Think about it.

Most here say, because it is a free site, the writer has no obligation to his reader; I say they're wrong. The reader should, at least, be respected, and not caring enough to finish what you started is not respecting the reader.

collaborating with someone? I have a writer friend with whom I bounce ideas around all the time. It works both ways; he and I bouce things off one another.

Try thinking outside the box; I have no idea what your story is about, but try to go in a different direction. Sometimes I review what I've written so far and something that happened earlier in the story gives my a clue as to where to go.

To me, it's what writing is all aobut; if it was easy...yup, everyone would be doing it. The challenge is not to sit there typing when everything is flowing like a river, the challenge is to tough it out when you're trying to climb out of a deep hole.

*sigh* What is it with this "should" and "duty" crap? No, you don't have a "duty" to read the comments--or anything else--if you don't want to on this free-use site.

Yeah, you're right about not having any 'duty' as it is a free site, for both posting and reading.
I myself post stories here in the hope that 1) someone else might actually enjoy them and 2) I become a better writer.
For 2), I've found reading posts on grammar, etc., from more experienced writers on this site very instructive. But, because I'm trying to improve as a writer I also feel an obligation to read comments and feedback from those who've read my stories. Many times the comments give me an idea if I'm on the right track or should be trying something a little different.
So, I wasn't trying to say this site obliges you to read readers comments.

What bothers me more is that I read the first post, then the following posts and forgot that Wolfblackthorne was talking about the beginning of a series! For some bizarre reason I thought he was talking about a single shot story and his readers were asking for more. Tsk. Tsk. I need more sleep.